Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has been sentenced to four years and nine months in jail for stealing $17 million from the baseball star to cover his own gambling debts.
Mizuhara was convicted on charges of bank and tax fraud, which he pleaded guilty to last year. He has since been ordered to return a total of $18 million, with $17 million of that going back to Ohtani with a further $1 million to the IRS.
As well as his four-year and nine-month prison sentence, Mizuhara was also ordered to serve an additional three years of supervised release, during which he will be monitored and required to follow specific conditions set by the court.
In addition to the money stolen to cover his gambling debts with an illegal bookmaker, Mizuhara also stole money to pay for $325,000 in baseball cards and his own dental work.
Prosecutors have ruled out any wrongdoing from Ohtani himself and have acknowledged he is nothing but a victim in this case.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Joseph T. McNally spoke on the disappointing details of the case.
"Mr. Mizuhara had a unique position of trust that gave him power, brought him fame, and paid him well," he said.
"Unfortunately, he exploited this dream job to steal millions of dollars from his friend and confidant. This is a sad tale of an American success story gone wrong, so wrong that Mr. Mizuhara will be spending years inside a prison cell."
The upcoming MLB season will begin on March 18th, when Ohtani and the Dodgers look to defend their World Series title with a season opener in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs.
